Off Duty
by Frankie McStein
Summary: A threat, an action, and a cliffhanger!
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer- I hate this part. People like me do not admit to not owning things, it means there's something we have no control over. Oh all right, I don't control the courts either, I'll say it, I don't own the characters in this story, except for the ones that I do own, of course.  
  
Off Duty  
  
'Bout bloody time too mate. Have you got any idea how long it's been since we had more than a morning off?  
Yeah. Too bloody long.  
Both men chuckled and then lapsed in to a comfortable silence that is the trade mark of firm friendships. The silence lasted until Bodie's flat came in to view.  
You actually staying in tonight mate? Thought you'd be out on some girl.  
Voice heavy with mock surprise, Doyle then laughed at the look of moral indignity Bodie plastered on his face.  
I find that remark highly offensive Raymond, he said, mouth twisted to accommodate the upper class accent.  
Oh I do apologise. I was unaware of an injury to your feelings that would be caused by this remark. Please do be so kind as to accept my heartfelt commiseration.  
  
  
  
It didn't take long for Bodie to decide that his girl could wait and invite Doyle for a takeaway. The specified and expected condition was beer to wash it down with. Bodie readily agreed and both headed over to his own flat, Doyle to change and grab the beer, Bodie to tidy up and get the food.  
Neither realised it would be much longer than a few minutes before they spoke again.  
  
  
It took an hour for Bodie to get worried about Doyle. He'd said fifteen minutes, so Bodie had given him jokingly forty-five. Now, sixty minutes later, he was feeling anxious. It wasn't like Doyle to be that late, in fact, it wasn't like Doyle to be late at all. So what had happened? Making a quick decision he crossed over the room and picked up the phone. He was surprised to hear the computerised voice telling him to replace the hand set and try again.  
Shaking his head,wondering how long his phone had been off the hook, he quickly dialled Doyle's number. After letting the phone ring for a few minutes with no answer, Bodie found his anxiety only increasing. He had barely hung up the phone when it started ringing. Spinning round, he snatched it up, thinking it would be Doyle.  
'Bout time too sunshine. Where are you?  
  
Oops.' Yes sir. Any thing wrong?  
Aye lad there is. How quickly can you get to the hospital?  
Hospital sir? Why do I need to go to hospital?  
You don't. Unless you want to see Doyle. He was brought in about half an hour ago. He was hit by a car.  
Christ. How is he?  
It doesn't look good.  
Bodie ended the call without replying, and spent the next five minutes throwing breakable objects around his living room. Then he ran down to his car, praying to a God who had never helped him to save his friend.  
  
Ten minutes later, after a drive that would have taken other people twenty, Bodie ran in to the hospital and was met by Jax.  
Bodie wait a minute. Cowley's in with him right now, the doctors say he can only have one visitor at a time.  
Despite the franticness of his worry for his partner, Bodie acknowledged Jax's words and sank to a chair. He leapt to his feet only a few seconds later and started pacing, impatience and fear showing clearly in his eyes. Finally, after nearly thirty minutes, Cowley walked out, his face serious.  
An upheld hand stopped Bodie from running to his partner's room.  
Sir please...  
Wait a minute Bodie. Doyle wont know.  
Of course he'll know, Bodie said, exasperated.  
No he wont lad. He's in a coma. He was awake just long enough to give me a description of the driver of the car, then he slipped away.  
Although it seemed as though Cowley wanted to say more, he held his tongue as Bodie sank back in to his chair. It was disturbing to see Bodie's facade of casualness slip away, but slip it did, leaving Bodie trembling in his seat. Jax discreetly looked away as Cowley sat down next to Bodie, placing a hand on his shoulder as he did.  
He'll pull through, he always does.  
Bodie made no reply and Cowley didn't say anymore.  
It was almost ten minutes later when Bodie raised his head.  
I want to look for the person who did it.  
I know you do. I've got Susan looking through the records, Doyle added that he recognised the driver just before she drove in to him.  
  
Both Bodie and Jax exclaimed at this.  
Aye, she. Do you know of any girlfriends he's had recently who would want to do this to him?  
Bodie shook his head.  
No. The last few have been quite friendly breakup's, he's still talking with them as far as I know. There's no reason for any of them to do this.  
Then obviously it's someone else.  
What about your girlfriends? asked Jax suddenly.  
  
Well, you said earlier you had a date tonight, but you didn't keep it.  
At Bodie's questioning look Jax shrugged.  
I was just across the street when it happened, I rode here with him in the ambulance. He told me you two were going to have takeout. So, what about it? One of your girls get fed up with you and decides to take it out on Doyle.  
Bodie shook his head.  
I cant see it.  
Ok then, Cowley said, standing as he did. We have an unknown female who, for reason or reasons unknown, decided to try and kill Doyle.  
At the look in Bodie's eyes, Cowley quickly added,  
Not that they've managed it.  
  
  
Blame writers block if you like, but I've decided not to finish this story just yet. Instead, I'm leaving it here, for you, the readers, if there are any, to decided what happens next. Leave me a review or send me an e-mail saying what you think should go next and I'll pick the best (or most likely only) idea I get and put it up as soon as can write it.  
So, if you want to see the ending, get reviewing, because it's not going to be written without your input =D


	2. chapter 2, action at last, kinda

Disclaimer- As always, they're not mine. I got a lot of stuff for Crimbo, but this wasn't one of them.  
A/N- I have no idea as to the actual sentencing for possession or breaking out of prison, so just pretend it's 10 years ok? OMG! I can believe how long it's been since I did anything on this fic! I just found this in my progressing folder and suddenly thought damn! So here you go =)  
  
  
Barely five minutes after he left the hospital Bodie pulled over, left his car and walked back to where Jax had stopped.  
If I shake you off, I suppose someone else will take over?  
  
  
Bodie stood still for a few seconds, considering shaking Jax off his tail anyway. He quickly, and wisely, decided against it and a few minutes later both he and Jax were headed towards the outskirts of the city. For the next seven hours Jax stuck to Bodie as he visited one contact after another. None of them could offer any help and when he finally returned to his flat, Bodie's temper was simmering dangerously close to the surface.  
  
He sat by the window, ignoring the sounds drifting up from the night street. To any casual observer it would seem as though his eyes were fixed on a car, but anyone who knew him would tell you he wasn't looking at anything in particular. Jax knew this as he sat in his car and looked up at Bodie sitting by his window. Jax knew him well enough to easily guess what Bodie was thinking about, and what he was really seeing. He sighed as Bodie suddenly stood and wrenched the curtains closed.   
  
As Jax watched, the light behind the curtain went out and he told himself Bodie was in bed. The street was empty and two of the street lamps had burnt out, casting the bottom half of the street in to darkness. Just as Jax was thinking that those deep shadows were the perfect place for a grisly murder, his RT. bleeped.   
  
I do have a reasonably comfortable couch you know.  
Jax shook his head as he climbed out of his car and headed towards the building he had been watching.  
***  
  
The two men spent a not so restful night and both were in before Cowley the next morning. As Jax went to write his report of the case he had been working on, Bodie went to the VIP lounge and sat down. Something was annoying him. The door creaked open and Murphy walked in.  
  
All right Jack? he asked of Bodie, who fixed him with a withering glare.  
  
All this time on the force and you can't even remember my name yet? At any other time his voice would have been light, but now, with Doyle still in a coma in the hospital and a possible clue escaping him, his anger was all too clear in his growled response. Murphy walked back out of the room and closed the door quietly behind him.  
  
Just a friendly greeting, he muttered to the closed door, he knew enough not to let Bodie hear him. In the rest room, still sitting on the couch, Bodie closed his eyes and let the images his mind was throwing up wash over him. He knew he was missing something, something his instincts were telling him was vital. And after surviving so long on them, he knew better than to ignore his instincts. The name kept reverberating in his head. Jack. Jack Matthews. Member of the army squad. Dead. Next. Sprat. Not funny. Next. Montgomery.  
  
His eyes flew open. That was it! Jack Montgomery, he remembered now, and was already kicking himself for not seeing it sooner. Jack Montgomery, in that kidnapping case with the tank plans. Bodie closed his eyes again, refusing to clutter his mind with unnecessary names and faces. All his attention was focused on Jack Montgomery and his arrest.   
  
He nodded slightly as he dove deeper in to his recollections, never even noticing another agent opening the door, not even registering the quick closing of the door. He didn't pick up on any of the whispers that meant his solitude was being ensured by someone preventing anyone else entering the room. He was lost in a case that was already almost three years old.  
  
~~flashback~~  
  
"No sign of Doyle yet?"  
  
"None sir."  
Cowley looked annoyed, rightfully so. They had found the girl, they had apprehended all the people involved, there was no reason for Doyle to still be out.  
  
"Let me know the second he reports in." Cowley left the room, ignoring the muted sigh of relief his exit caused.  
  
~~end flashback~~  
  
Bodie sighed in mild aggravation, before reprimanding himself and pushing the feeling away. He knew from experience that emotions made the memory doubtful, and he needed every thing to be sharp as if he were just living it, just seeing it all for the very first time.  
  
~~flashback~~  
  
A week, and no sign of Doyle. A week, and the entire CI5 squad, as well as all other official services were on alert. All eyes were flickering around in the hopes of catching sight of the missing man. All ears were pricked up, anxiously waiting for a message from or about him. There had been no ransom demand so it could only be assumed he had been taking captive for information; there was no way anyone would dare imagine he had gone AWOL.  
  
Abruptly all agents were called in. An informant had spotted a guy he knew worked for a drugs ring that Cowley had had his sights on for a while. Doyle was pushed to the background and a raid on the country cottage reputed to be their headquarters was organised.  
  
~~end flashback~~  
  
Bodie sat upright, every muscle tense. He remembered perfectly the events that had unfolded. They had driven to the cottage. It wasn't until they were about to go in that someone mentioned that Doyle had been calling there in the horse trailer in his search for the girl a week ago. The tension had risen noticeably as everyone started hoping they would find Doyle as well as the drug dealers. A grim smile spread over Bodie's face as the facts he wanted started flowing through his brain.   
  
Doyle had been there, as had John Montgomery. Montgomery had been small fry, a delivery man mainly, but he had been arrested and tried. Six months in prison. Became a user while inside. Three months later got involved in a breakout. Started dealing to get money to feed his habit. Out for one month. Arrested as a dealer. Sentenced to ten years for possession and for breaking out of jail in the first place. Took a lethal overdose two months later, on the day he would have been released if he hadn't broken out.  
  
Bodie relaxed slightly now he had irradiated the annoyance. He remembered all about that bust, all about Montgomery, and he knew why he had thought of it. There had recently been an inquest in to allegations of brutality in prisons and that was one of the stories the newspapers had dragged up. But something was still puzzling him. He couldn't thing why he had thought of that man in connection with Doyle. Other than the fact that he had been marginally involved in Doyle being put in hospital some time before. But what did it matter? He was dead.  
  
A timid knock sounded on the door, and Bodie wasn't surprised to find he had been sitting in the same position for almost an hour. He spared a wry grin for whoever had been keeping people out of the room, and then called for the person knocking to come in. The door opened slowly and a head peeped round the gap as soon as it was big enough.  
  
"Sorry," whispered Susan, "I just need to grab my jacket. I'm going up to visit my father so I'm leaving early."  
Bodie didn't reply and Susan retrieved her jacket and left as quickly as she could, warning everyone she bumped in to to keep staying away from the rest room. Bodie was standing where he had been stretching when Susan walked in.  
_  
I'm going to visit my father.'_  
  
"Christ," Bodie whispered, ignoring the fact that he didn't believe in any force other himself. "Montgomery had a daughter."  
***  
  
"She was nowhere to be found and we were so happy to have Chris Gunthred and the rest of the ring under lock and key that she wasn't deemed necessary."  
  
"And you think she may be the one who tried to kill Doyle?"  
  
"Yes sir." Bodie kept his eyes fixed on Cowley's face and was relived to see he was being taken seriously. After a few seconds Cowley stood up.  
  
"If she's still alive, I want her found."  
***  
  
There wasn't a crook in the entire city of London who didn't know that something major was underway. Every favour they had ever owed had been called in by CI5 contacts and even operatives. Seven operations were hurriedly rescheduled and some even cancelled completely until the fuss had died down. What no one seemed to be able to find out was why CI5 was suddenly going in to overdrive.   
  
If it had become known that it was due to Doyle being hit with a car a lot of people would have relaxed and began their business again. As it was, every one who had ever broken the law was cowering, wondering if they were the ones being hunted. Only one person knew for sure that they were in Cowley's sights, and she felt she was too well hidden for any one to find her. In light of her sense of security, it really wasn't surprising she was planning her next action. What was surprising was the target of her plans.  
  
Most people had noticed the absence of Doyle in the recent flurry of activity. The story was that he was on leave, a story that was believed by everyone, except the one person who knew exactly where he was, and how he had gotten there. Megan Montgomery, daughter of the late Jack Montgomery, had revelled in the joy that had come with the belief that she had killed one of the men responsible for her father's death.  
  
Then one of her informers had told her that he had survived. Raymond Doyle, the man who had stumbled upon the farm house in the first place, and she had failed to kill him. She had called in several favours to find out where he was. And now she was ready.  
***  
  
Bodie was slowly driving himself mad. Every lead he had followed had ended in a dead end, every contact had been a false hope. Now he had no idea what to do to find Megan Montgomery, and to top it all off, his last call to the hospital had told him that, despite brief periods of wakefulness, Doyle was again unconscious and still highly critical. He had tried reading files and reports, but had ended up annoying himself by not focusing on the words properly.  
  
He made a sudden decision and grabbed his coat off the back of the chair. No one was around to see him hurry in to the car pool and only a few owls noticed when his Capri flew out of the gates, tyres screaming round the tight corner. It was a quarter past one in the morning after all.   
  
He glanced at the clock on his dashboard and winced, knowing Cowley would be in at seven and that there was a meeting he was expecting to see Bodie at. Then Doyle's face flashed in to his mind, and put all thought of repercussions out of his head.  
  
Three hours and one wrong turn later saw him pulling up the drive of the cottage. Cowley had put the cottage out of bounds, saying that it had been resold and he didn't want reports of CI5 activities leaking in to the press. Bodie himself had said the chances of Megan returning to the cottage were so slim it was impossible to calculate them. Nevertheless, here he was.  
  
He stayed in his car for a few minutes, eyes scanning for any sign of life. He wasn't expecting any, but this was the country, he had no knowledge of the life style of the cottage's new owners, and no intention of being caught. Finally, after deciding no-one was awake, he slid out of three car door and cautiously approached the front of the cottage, ducking in to the shadows whenever possible.  
  
A quick look told him it would take a few minutes to break the lock and longer to pick it. His teeth ground in frustration for a second, and then he took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down. A few seconds later he was hurrying around the side of the building, hoping for a less secure lock on the back door.  
  
Luck was obviously smiling. Less that a minute later he was standing inside the kitchen, wondering idly if the new owners knew hard drugs had once been cut in the room. He lay odds on the answer being no, then proceeded in to the dinning room. Having no idea what he was looking for didn't help his search, neither did his second to second expectation of discovery.  
  
A cock crowed loudly outside and his head whipped round, searching for the source of the unfamiliar sound. His entire body froze as he found himself staring in to the eyes of the very girl he had been searching for.  
*** *** *** *** ***  
  
| suppose it's too much to expect someone to know what's become of 3.7? Cowley's tone was caustic and more than one person present flinched as he looked at them. Very well then. He can catch up on the events of this meeting when he returns.   
  
The implied threat of having to deal directly with the Cow was enough to terrify younger agents, many of whom wondered openly how Bodie and Doyle managed it so often. There was no doubt that this latest turn of events would have kept the newer men shaking in their boots for months to come, until Bodie came charging in to the conference room.  
  
I've got her sir, he yelled, waving what looked like a photograph in the air. She rented the same damn cottage the sly bitch!  
  
It took less that thirty seconds for the look in Cowley's eyes to clear the room, and then the glare was directed towards Bodie.  
  
This better be damn good man, growled the Scott. You're not exactly high up in my good books you know.  
  
I went to that cottage where we found Montgomery last time, Bodie started, holding up his hand to stop the out burst he knew was coming. I know you said not to, and I said there would be no point anyway, but it was all I could think of. And I found this picture. It's Megan and her father, and there are more all through the place. I think Megan is the new owner of that cottage sir. I think she bought it herself, thinking it would hide her once we started looking.  
  
Cowley reached out a hand and took the picture, studying it intensely. Then he pulled off his glasses and a cold smile spread over his face.  
I want that place under constant surveillance! Phone tap, mail interception, bugs, teams there round the clock! I want this woman found, now!  
  
Within an hour the news that action was approaching had spread like wildfire, and every member of the CI5 squad was ready for whatever might come. Rumour had it that Cowley himself was taking part in the surveillance, and it was a fact that the rookies were logging as much time as they could spare in the training salles. No one was too sure where this latest development would lead, but everyone was determined to be able to meet it head on.


End file.
